The Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association is combining its annual summer yearling sale with its former December mixed sale to create a one-day WTBOA summer yearling and mixed sale event this year.

A son of Cahill Road brought the highest price of $60,000 during the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Association (WTBA) summer yearling sale Sept. 8 at the Morris J. Alhadeff Sale Pavilion at Emerald Downs. Jill and Dave Heerensperger purchased the bay colt, which is a full brother to The Great Face, winner of the 2007 Longacres Mile (gr. III) and Mt. Rainier Handicaps at Emerald Downs.

The 43rd annual Washington Thoroughbred Breeders Association's summer yearling auction will be held Sept. 8, beginning at 1 p.m. (PDT) at the Morris Alhadeff Sales Pavilion at Emerald Downs. There are 179 horses in the catalog and in addition to yearlings with Washington pedigrees, they include offerings from Kentucky, California, Oregon, and Canada.

Federal legislation that would regulate online poker and games of skill protects pari-mutuel horse racing under the Interstate Horseracing Act and includes various tax breaks sought by the racing industry, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association said Aug. 7.

The American Horse Council's 2009 Rolapp Award was presented to Kentucky congressman Ben Chandler for his outstanding support of the horse industry. The award was presented to Chandler June 16 at a Congressional Reception in the Capitol during the American Horse Council's National Issues Forum in Washington, D.C.

There's a new president in town, and a Congress even more dominated by Democrats, but one of the nation's top lobbyists for equine interests said April 30 that the horse industry must be ever-diligent about protecting and advancing its positions in Washington, D.C.

As the Thoroughbred industry seeks to build on and create new programs to deal with horses that can no longer race, it could learn lessons from Greyhound racing, which has a history of successful adoption programs and first-hand knowledge of the power of animal-rights groups.

The American Horse Council is holding its annual Congressional Ride-In June 17, in Washington, DC. The Ride-In will take place as part of the AHC National Issues Forum, which will focus on "The Welfare of the Horse" this year. All interested members of the horse community are encouraged to participate.

For the first time, Washington-breds and British Columbia-breds will compete against each other in the BC Cup at Hastings Racecourse and the Washington Cup at Emerald Downs. Three races at each track have been opened to include horses bred in Washington and British Columbia, Canada.

It tends to get lost in the shuffle because it's not as sexy as anabolic steroids, race-fixing, or catastrophic breakdowns from a media perspective. But talk to people who work in the horse industry every day, and they'll tell you the issue of unwanted horses is serious and so broad it impacts the entire United States, not just the horseracing industry.

Though the United States presidential election will get the biggest headlines as November approaches, horse industry representatives were told June 17 they should pay attention to -- and get involved in -- congressional races around the country.

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced April 22 the formation of the Horseplayers' Coalition, a consortium of horseplayers whose common objective is to seek legislative and regulatory solutions to tax and business issues that impact racing fans and pari-mutuel racetracks.

The American Horse Council and the United States Department of Agriculture are co-sponsoring a forum on the issue of unwanted horses. The all-day event will be held June 18 at the department's Jefferson Auditorium in Washington, DC.